Putnam County, Ohio - Chapter 5: County Organization, 1915

Chapter 5: County Organization

In Chapter i, on related state history, an account is given of the organization of the Northwest Territory and the creation of the state of Ohio. From the day the state was admitted to the Union, March i, 1803, down to the present time, comprises a period of one hundred and twelve years. Starting out with less than a dozen counties in 1803, the state now has eightyeight counties, which have been organized from year to year as the territory was bought from the Indians and settled up by the whites.

The territory now comprised within the limits of Putnam county was originally within two separate Indian cessions, the Ottawa Reserve, of twenty-five miles, and that secured by the treaty of September 29, 18 17. This treaty was consumated at the Foot of the Rapids of Lake Erie and was negotiated by Lewis Cass and Duncan McArthur, commissioners on the part of the United States, and the many different chiefs and sachems, representing the Wyandot, Seneca, Delaware, Shawnee, Pottawattamie, Ottawa and Chippewa tribes of Indians.

The state Legislature of Ohio, by the act of February 12, 1820, organized Putnam county with the following limits : "Towns i and 2 south, and i and 2 north of ranges 5, 6, 7 and 8, east of the first meridian of Ohio." Each town (or township, as they are now called) contained thirty-six sections, one mile sciuare, the whole county containing five hundred and seventysix square miles. The county was cut off from Williams county, but the population was so sparse that it was not until fourteen years later that the county was formally organized and permitted to take its place as an independent political district. The scarcity of population is shown by the fact that only one hundred and sixty- three votes were cast at the first election in 1834.

It is very unfortunate that the early court records of the county are not complete, due to the burning of the court house at Kalida in the fall of 1864, but the first steps in the definite organization of the county have been well established. In accordance with a legislative act, passed in 1834, the governor of the state appointed William Cochran, Henry Morris and Silas McClish as associate judges of the court of- common pleas of the county. These men were intrusted with the duty of formally organizing the county and, pursuant to the act providing for their appointment, they met on May 8, 1834, at. the house of Abraham Sarber, in Kalida, and took the first steps in starting the county. After being sworn in as provided by law, they proceeded to complete the organization of the county by appointing Daniel W. Gray as clerk of the court; Amos Evans, prosecuting attorney; Abraham Sarber, town clerk; Thomas Gray, William Priddy and Samuel Myers, county commissioners; F. C. Fitch, surveyor; John Cochran, A. E. Martin, Isaac Owens, James Nichols and Daniel W. Gray, school examiners. The judges concluded their day's work by ordering an election to be held on the thirty-first of the same month for the purpose of electing a sheriff and coroner. Thus was Putnam county ushered in as an independent county and may it be said to the credit of these first county officials that they performed their several duties in such a manner as to earn the commendation of their fellow citizens. Their duties were not onerous, in view of the fact that the county was very thinly settled, but what they did do was done in an efficient and painstaking manner.

For some reason which has not been ascertained, the county seat was definitely located in 1829, five years before the county was organized. The state Legislature, by the act of February 12, 1829, appointed a commission to locate and name a county seat, and it is presumed that the site the commission finally selected was the center of population of the county. Kalida, the site finally chosen, is located in section 5, township i south, range 6 east. This little village was located near the confluence of Plum and Sugar creeks and is now in Union township. After the organization of the county, on May 8, 1834, the county commissioners purchased all of section 5, which had not been previously bought, had it laid off into lots and ordered the town director to sell the lots at the best possible price. The money thus obtamed was to be used in the erection of a court house and jail. A frame court house was built and a jail of heavy timbers was hastily erected to accommodate the few offenders who might need incarceration. In 1839 these frame structures were replaced by substantial brick buildings in Kalida and they remained in use until December 18, 1864, when the court house was burned down. On October 9, 1866, an election removed the county seat to Ottawa, where it has since remained. The vote to change the county seat was carried by a majority of four hundred and eighty-five. The citizens of

Changes In Area

It has been stated that the county of Putnam was organized with an area of five hundred and seventy-six square miles and it retained this area until 1848, when Auglaize county was organized by the state Legislature. At this time^ Richland township, the southeastern township of the county, was detached and made a part of Allen county. The following separate tracts were also taken from Putnam county at that time and added to Allen county: the southern tier of sections of Riley township; the entire township of Monroe (township 2 south, range 7 east) ; three tiers of sections from the south side of Sugar Creek township; three tiers of sections from the south side of Jennings township. These deductions from the original area of Putnam county were partially offset by the addition of the eastern half of township I south, range 4 east, now a part of Monterey township, which had been a part of Van Wert county. By these various changes the county was reduced to an area of four hundred and eighty square miles and this has remained the area of the county down to the present time. However, it should be noted that the territory detached meant a great loss to the county. It included much of the best improved land of the county and contained the thriving villages and towns of Bluffton, Beaver Dam, West Cairo and that part of Delphos situated east of the Miami and Erie .extension canal. In May, 1853, the county commissioners of Allen and Putnam counties met and agreed upon the sum of three thousand, eight hundred and forty-eight dollars and seventy-six cents, due Putnam county from Allen county, as compensation for territory taken from Putnam and added to Allen county.

There were some townships organized within the present limits of Putnam county before it was formally organized in 1834. With the many changes in county limits and the increase in population from year to year, new townships were created and the limits of old townships were changed. The following table exhibits the organization of the various townships of the county, and the history of the townships will be taken up in the order of their creation :

The exact dates of the organization of these various townships has not been ascertained owing to the absence of the early commissioners' and trustees' records, but it is believed that the dates as stated above are correct. They were given by the late George Skinner in his history of the county in 1880 and he was as good an authority on the history of the county as any man then living. Mention has been made of the decrease in the original area of the county with the detachment of a strip of varying width which was taken from the county in 1848 and added to Allen county. Two whole townships were detached at that time - Richland and Monroe, being south of Riley and Pleasant townships, respectively. One tier of townships was taken from Riley township and added to Richland and after the latter was joined to Allen county it still retained its old name as a part of Allen county. Sugar Creek township was halved by the act of 1848 and both halves retain the old name. Jennings township was also cut in two, but the part added to Allen became a part of Marion township in the latter county. Monterey township, three by six miles, was organized from territory which was taken from VanAVert county by the Legislature. Many of these townships have had some changes in their limits at various times.

Auditor

The county records do not show who the auditor was at the time the county was organized in 1834. For many years the auditor was elected every two years, but since the change in the constitution he holds for four years. One of the odd things disclosed by the old records was the name of "Sam Weaver," when his name should have been Samuel P. or S. P. Weaver. Reed and Jones are the only Republicans ever elected to the office, although it is thought that Creighton, because he served only one term, was a Whig. The list as taken from the records is as follows: W. Risley, 1838-44; J. E. Creighton, 1844-46; Neham Smith, 1846-50; William Bell, 1850-54; John Monroe, 1854-58; J. H. Smith, 1858-62; F. H. Rothman, 1862-66; Sam Weaver, 1866-70; John Deffenbaugh, 1870-74; Bernard Lehmkuhle, 1874-78; Louis Lehmkuhle, 1878-84; William Place, 1884-90; W. F. Reed, 1890-93; Aaron Overbeck, 1893-96; J. C. Jones, 1896-99; L. N. Welde, 1899-1905; Joseph Kersting, 1905-11; J. E. Roose, 191 1 to the present time.

Sheriff

Every sheriff of Putnam county has been elected by the Democrats and, judging from the majorities which the sheriffs have been receiving, it seems like it will be many years yet before this unbroken record will be changed. Many of these sheriffs could tell some very interesting stories if they cared to disclose their experiences while in the discharge of their duties. One sheriff, Sherrard, hung a man by the name of Goodman on the spot where the old jail stood. It is probable that Sherrard had more exciting experiences than any other sheriff. The most famous jail delivery the county has ever known occurred during his administration, when murderer Goodman and several other prisoners tried to escape. Sherrard was struck with a brick-bat in a stocking by one of the prisoners, and the desperate criminals seized his keys and made a dash for liberty. Fortunately, nearly all were captured within a short time. The complete list of sheriffs of the county is as follows : William Cochran, Jr., 1834-38; David S. Gibbs, 1838-42; T. R. McClure, 1842-46; I. H. Vail, 1846-48; R. Douglass, 1848-52; John B. Fruchey, 1852- 56; James H. Vail, 1856-60; William Craybill, 1860-62; John Cunningham, 1862-66; W. W. Cartwright, 1866-70; Louis W. Albright, 1870-74; Henry Sherrard, 1874-78; Josiah Markley, 1878-82; Frank Rothman; Peter Wanne-

Coroner

The first coroner, William Turner, was appointed by the court in the spring of 1834, and the first man elected to the office was James Taylor, who was elected in the fall of the same year. The coroners do not see to have left definite records, or at least there does not appear a complete list of these officials in the county records. The following roster is as complete as the records show: William Turner, 1834; James Taylor, 1834-38; Henry Blosser, 1850-54; Chris Raabe, 1866-70; John W. Vaughn, 1870-74; David Waltner, Jr., 1874-78; Joseph Fouriner, 1878-82; H. J. Rader, 1882-86;- Jacob F. Leffler, 1886-90; S. F. DeFord, 1890-94; G. A. Light, 1894-98; E. J. Dech, 1898-1900 (re-elected in 1900, but resigned and A. F. Sheibley was appointed to fill out the term) ; A. F. Sheibley, 1902-06; E. L. Tupper, 1906-10; A. F. Sheibley, 19 10 to the present time.

Surveyor Prosecuting Attorney

The first prosecuting attorney of Putnam county, Amos Evans, received the munificient salary of fifty dollars a year; the present prosecutor is paid a yearly stipend of seventeen hundred dollars. The term was at first two years, then changed to three, and is now two years. Many of the incumbents of this office in the county have become among the strongest members of the local bar. The complete roster follows: Amos Evans, 1834-35; Hamilton Davidson, 1835-37; Francis H. Gillette, 1837-39; Edson Goit, 1839-40; William G. Burge, 1840-41; WiUiam L. Rose, 1841-42; A. A. Skinner, 1842-45;

Probate Judge

The office of probate judge was created by the constitution of 1852 and was again recognized by the constitution of 1912. It is interesting to note that a majority of the probate judges of Putnam county have not been lawyers. The first man elected to the position, John Dixon, was a lawyer. Taylor was a veteran of the Civil \A'ar and a merchant of Kalida. Kuhns was a real estate agent and held the office for twelve years, the longest of any incumbent. Gordon was a contractor and was recorder of Butler county several terms before coming to Putnam county. Bacon was a druggist; Uphaus, a manufacturer; Thomas, a lawyer; Armstrong, a farmer; Powell and Boehmer, lawyers; Heidlebaugh, a school teacher; Mersman, a manufacturer.

County Commissioners

The first board of county commissioners was appointed May 5, 1834, by the associate judges. They were Thomas Gray, William Priddy and Samuel Meyers. In October of the same year, an election was held for county commissioners and the following were elected: William Priddy, Benjamin Clevenger and Sheldon Guthrie. The complete list since that time follows:

Representatives In Congress

Since the organization of the county, in 1834, it has been included in several different congressional districts. It is rather difficult to designate all the men who have represented it, but the list of those representing this district since 1852 have been taken from the official records and are complete to 1915. The counties given are those in which the congressman lived when elected.

Representatives In State Legislature State Senators

From 1834 Putnam county has had representation in the state Legislature and during the eighty-one years which have elapsed since that time it has been included in several districts. It was first included in a district composed of Allen, Mercer, Darke, Shelby, Wood, Miami, Williams, Lucas, Van Wert, Paulding, Henry and Putnam counties. Gradually the number of counties composing the district was reduced and now consists of the five counties of Wood, Hancock, Henry, Fulton and Putnam. This district

County Infirmary

In 1865 a vote was taken to build a county infirmary, but the proposition was defeated. At the April election, 1866, another vote was taken and carried by eight hundred and six majority, only one hundred and fifty-one votes being cast against the measure.

After the board ceased to exist, the superintendent was appointed by the county commissioners. W. P. Frantz was the first man appointed by the commissioners and is still serving in that capacity.

Tax Commissioners

The Legislature of 1912-14 enacted a law creating the office of deputy tax commissioner. Joseph Kersting was appointed by the commissioners to fiill this office for Putnam county. He served for nearly two years, when he was superseded by R. B. Lay ton. The law has been decentralized and the duties of the deputy tax commissioner transferred to the county commissioners.